In its six months of operation, Allentown’s PPL Center has made diversity the keystone to its programming – offering hockey, basketball, rodeo, the circus and, of course, concerts. On Saturday, it offered hockey and a concert in the same night: After the Lehigh Valley Phantoms beat the Hershey Bears 4-1, contemporary Christian band Kutless took the ice (on the back of a flatbed truck) and performed a 50-minute show for perhaps 500 people who stayed. (More than 9,000 saw the game). The concert was good enough that it could have held up on its own. Kutless, which in its 15-year career has had a gold album and 10 Top 20 Christian hits, played nine songs, opening with two...

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In its six months of operation, Allentown’s PPL Center has made diversity the keystone to its programming – offering hockey, basketball, rodeo, the circus and, of course, concerts.
On Saturday, it offered hockey and a concert in the same night: After the...

When Cole Bardreau signed his amateur tryout contract to play for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms following the end of Cornell University's hockey season on March 7, he knew he was going to break into the AHL, but not as quickly as he has.
The 5-foot-10,...

Gloomy and gloomier.
That's the unofficial outlook from the outside looking at the AHL standings and the chances the Lehigh Valley Phantoms have to make the Calder Cup playoffs.
The Phantoms, playing their first season in the Lehigh Valley after going...

Cheer on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as they face off against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Portland Pirates this weekend at Allentown's PPL Center.
On Friday, March 6, Lehigh Valley (25-23-6-1) will battle Bridgeport (21-29-5-1) for the third time this...

The slide is over!
A crowd of 8,964, second largest ever for hockey at the PPL Center, went home smiling for the first time in a long while after Brandon Manning's goal in overtime ended a seven-game losing streak at home.
Manning's slapshot from the...

We kept hearing it over and over again, but somehow, it didn't sink in right away.
The American Hockey League is a developmental league for the National Hockey League, and the minor league affiliates' main job is to develop players for the parent club to...

Players were smiling a little bit extra during Tuesday's Lehigh Valley Phantoms practice. Some for the first time this year.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Mark Alt, on the injured list for far too long, both skated with the team in non-contact jerseys during a...

HERSHEY — Kevin Goumas and his fresh legs couldn't have entered the game at a better time, with the score tied in overtime. Goumas got open in front of a Hershey defenseman, received a pass in the low slot from Nick Cousins, and went backhand-forehand,...

After the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' dreadful 6-1 loss to Hershey at the PPL Center on Friday night, Phantoms alternate captain Andrew Gordon sounded hauntingly like Yoda in "The Empire Strikes Back."
"We have to realize that just wanting...

When you look back at a full 76-game season in the AHL, there are swings you can point to that change its course.
This one is bordering on ridiculous.
For the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the current three-games-in-three-nights weekend may be one of those...

One team looked like it never stopped practicing during the AHL All-Star Classic break; the other looked like it was still on break for the first 30 minutes.
The Albany Devils jumped out to a three-goal lead and got an empty-net goal in the closing two...

Cheer on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as they face off against the Albany Devils on Thursday, Jan. 29, and the Hershey Bears on Friday, Jan. 30, at Allentown's PPL Center.
The Phantoms (20-16-5) will welcome the Devils (20-14-9) to their home ice for the...

The Hershey Bears turned the PPL Center into Bleak House on a dreary Wednesday night by scoring three power-play goals and another short-handed as Lehigh Valley Phantoms allowed the most goals they've given up all season, home or on the road.
The...

The NFL is still investigating the so-called 'inflate-gate" revolving around reports that 11 of the 12 footballs used by the New England Patriots in Sunday's AFC championship game were underinflated by as much as 15 percent. … The approaching...

With three games left before the break and the AHL All-Star Classic on Jan. 25-26, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms don't have much time to reflect on the first half of their season.
There is no halftime in hockey, but there is a midway point in the season,...

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms will battle their East Division rival Hershey Bears on Wednesday, Jan. 21, and the St. John's IceCaps on Saturday, Jan. 24, at PPL Center in Allentown.
The Phantoms (19-14-4-1) are looking to redeem themselves following...

Trailing 3-2 with about 15 minutes left in the third period, Brandon Manning's powerful slapshot clanged hard off the iron and away in a key moment that allowed host Hershey to hold off Lehigh Valley's comeback efforts in what was eventually a 5-2...

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms completed a successful five-game road trip with their fourth consecutive victory in a 6-2 blowout of the St. John's IceCaps on Sunday afternoon. Six different goal scorers led the way for the resurgent Lehigh Valley offense...

By Jason Bell, The Sports Xchange
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — NHL leading scorer Jakub Voracek scored unassisted just 10 seconds into overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Sunday night.
The goal was his second of the game and 14th...

Cheer on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as they face off against the Norfolk Admirals in their last home game of the year Saturday, Dec. 27, at Allentown's PPL Center.
The Phantoms, American Hockey League affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, extended...